HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,806 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in AutoZone by 4.5%, selling 1,806 shares, and now holds approximately 38,092 shares valued at $145.24 million.
• Recent analyst activities have been positive for AutoZone, with firms like JPMorgan Chase and DA Davidson raising their target prices significantly, indicating a strong buy sentiment.
• AutoZone reported quarterly earnings of $35.36 EPS, missing expectations, but achieved revenue of $4.46 billion, which was above analyst estimates and reflected a year-on-year revenue increase of 5.4%.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,092 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,806 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.23% of AutoZone worth $145,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,967,000 after acquiring an additional 13,643 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after buying an additional 65,368 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after buying an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in AutoZone by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,039,421,000 after buying an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in AutoZone by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,840,000 after buying an additional 26,036 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $4,039.57 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $3,742.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,651.77. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,898.57 and a one year high of $4,094.69. The company has a market cap of $67.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $36.69 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.

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